Baseball

Honestly, this article could write itself after almost any Greinke non-win this season. 

The awful team on the field behind him finds a way to squander another Greinke gem. 

Two hits and no runs allowed through six are proven to be immaterial, as the hapless Royals strand runners, ground into double plays, fall astray on the basepaths, and subvert his best efforts on defense.

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Earlier this week, the Pirates lost their 82nd game of the season, thus assuring that their record will be under .500 at season's end.

Astute fans have noticed that this is no ordinary losing season--this is the Pirates' 17th consecutive year of mediocrity.

I was a 17-year-old high school senior on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

I was a little bummed out because the New York Giants lost their opening game on Monday Night Football to the Denver Broncos, but that would soon become a distant memory.

Around 9:30 in the morning, I heard whispers in the hallway that something terrible happened in New York City. I raced to the first empty classroom I could find and turned on the news, where I saw something so horrific it wasn't even imaginable five minutes prior.

The end is near, which is good or bad, depending on which side of the fence you sit on.

I've been thinking about Brandon Inge quite a bit lately. One reason is at some point this season, I placed an over/under bet with my friend on the number of home runs he'd hit this season.

I put the number at 28 and my friend took the over. The next homer Brandon hits will mean my wife and I don't get a free "reasonable" night out. Assuming there is another home run after that, not only will we not get a free night out, we'll have to pay for my friend and his wife. So before I dig more deeply into my thoughts, I only ask that Brandon choose his spots wisely.

After going through computer issues while taking in my first month of college life, there wasn't much time for yours truly to bash the man in charge of the "Orange & Black". However, with my computer back and having down time on a Friday afternoon, there are two succinct advantages. First, I no longer have to borrow my roomate's laptop, and second, I now have time to dissect the absurd decisions that Giants manager Bruce Bochy makes on a daily basis.

I'm not trying to demean or diminish his accomplishment, I'm just saying that while Derek Jeter may have passed the immortal Iron Horse for career hits as a Yankee, he has a long way to go to catch Gehrig in terms of getting on base.

And shouldn't the ultimate goal for every hitter be to get on base?

At least one unprecedented Cubs streak will end this year.

Chicago will likely finish this season second or third in the National League in strikeouts. That means that, barring an unforeseen rash of strikeouts by what will be predominantly inexperienced pitchers down the stretch, someone other than the North Siders will finish atop the NL strikeout team leaderboard for the first time since 2001.